


Wilting Petals

by joshuagraham



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Arthur PINING HARD THAT IT MIGHT ACTUALLY KILL HIM, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Pining Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 12:03:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17324657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshuagraham/pseuds/joshuagraham
Summary: He feels the pain blazing at the back of his throat Arthur coughs so damn hard. He feels it strangling him. The petals fall one by one into his hand, overflowing and plummeting all over his tent, filling every corner.





	Wilting Petals

**_The Hanahaki Disease_ ** _\- an illness born from one-sided love, where the patient throws up and coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. The infection can be removed through surgery, but the feelings and memories disappear along with the petals. It can also be cured without any side-effects only if the love becomes requited._

 

 _It happens again_ , Arthur woke to a terrible coughing fit.  He covered his mouth, to avoid waking everyone up with his noise. He closed his mouth with his palm and held it tight, so no sound would escape _. He wants it to be blood, he hopes for blood, it has to be blood_. And yet there it is, orange flower petals laying on his palm. For every aching day the petals progressively increase, growing its numbers. It makes Arthur dread going to sleep knowing he’ll just cough out more flower petals. He knew what it meant, and he knew it could kill him. Arthur accepts that it’s just going to be a part of him. “ _Arthur Morgan, an outlaw with a $5000 bounty on him, dying over a silly unrequited crush. Real funny how the world works”_ a tiny voice inside his mind says.

 

Arthur heads out of his tent, with fists clenched so tight, trying his best to hide the evidence. He avoids the people in camp – they do not need to know; Arthur can always figure it out by himself. What’s the point of involving the others to his problem?

 

He wants to thank Dutch for setting up camp near a river. Arthur looks at the petals inside his fists again. The bright orange petals haunt him. He lets it go andwatches as the river quickly eats the petals away.

 

His chest is killing him, he feels a cough forming and he ignores it; he wants to run away – but he knows better, running away won’t solve anything. So, he goes back.  

 

Back in camp, there was John Marston pouring himself a cup of coffee. Arthur has been avoiding John ever since the petals appeared.  It’s no question to him who it was. Who else would it be, it was impossible not to fall in love with John. He watched this boy turn into the rugged man he sees today. Sure John is young and stupid, _but hell,_ to Arthur he was perfect. He enjoys the time spent with the younger man. John understood him like no one else did. Having spent almost 15 years together does that to a man. Arthur says to himself that John deserves someone else, someone that’s not him – anyone but him.

 

“Arthur, why don’t ya sit down.” John calls out as Arthur walks past him. “I made coffee.”

        

“I’m goin’ back to sleep.” Not even bothering to look back at John. “Still tired.”

 

“What? Ya sick or somethin’?” John leaves his tin cup and stands up and reaches for the older man. Arthur shrugs him off – _this isn’t good,_ He feels it again, a tickle in the back of his throat.

 

Arthur walks faster, dodging the gang members worried looks on him, yet John is still at his tail. If there was a god listening to him right now, he prays that he can hold it in until John leaves him alone.

 

“Will you _stop_ following me?” Arthur stops outside his tent. “I need to rest and I can’t do that without yer yapping.”

 

“I’m just worr–” John was cut off as Arthur quickly closed the tent flap. “m’kay fine, have it yer way.”

 

Arthur turned away and waited until John’s footsteps faded into the distance. His urge to cough was killing him. He wants to fight it, ignore it and go back to normal. Despite his anger toward this disease, the itches get a better of him. He feels the pain blazing at the back of his throat Arthur coughs so _damn_ hard. He feels it strangling him. The petals fall one by one into his hand, overflowing and plummeting all over his tent, filling every corner.

 

_This time he’s sure the whole camp heard him._

––––––––––––––––––––––––

 

The sun was setting the sky was starting to get darker; John was heading off to his bed roll. He stops by Arthur’s tent and wonders when he and the older man would talk. It’s been days since they last conversed. Out of the blue, Arthur suddenly stopped talking to him.

 

He remembers the last time they were alone together. It was after a successful robbery, and John insists Arthur to drink with him. They rode together laughing, patting each other’s back, proud of one another. They get to the local saloon and John calls for the bartender. _One shot then two shots then three was that a fifth one? Where did Arthur get that bottle_ , John eventually lost count. He doesn’t remember much after that, just brief flashes of memory. Everything was a blur. He remembers both of them stumbling to get upstairs. John remembers how Arthur’s face got closer than usual.  He remembers how _good_ Arthur smelled at that moment. He remembers how much he wanted to kiss Arthur - right there and then.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Arthur’s muffled coughs from inside the tent. It was painful hearing the older man. An orange petal escapes through Arthur’s tent flap. John knew of this _Flower sickness_ they called, and it’s killing Arthur slowly - He walks away.

 

Later that night Arthur retches a handful of petals again. His mind contemplates on undergoing treatment but it was quickly dismissed. Being an outlaw on the run, he didn’t have the time for it. Most importantly; he didn’t want to lose these feelings as painful as it is. It was a part of him, maybe God’s sick joke but he had to deal with it. He knew doing it was taking the easy way out. _He just needed time, the perfect time. No more running away._ He was a grown-man, It’s such a simple solution to such a complex problem. Yet his demons tell him otherwise. There was a fire filling his lungs, in his heart, the petals clenching and unclenching, squirming, writhing inside of him.

 

_He will never love you back_

_He will never love you back_

_He will never love you back_

_He will never love you_ —

––––––––––––––––––––––––

 

Arthur notices when John looks at him. He feels those dark blue eyes piercing right through his soul. The ladies in camp talk about him, they worry alot. Things only got worse from there.

 

He was getting thin. His voiced changed slightly from the constant coughing. He barely slept at nights, he was forced awake by the horrible pain from his lungs -  Living was hell. Everyone asks the same questions and he answers with the same answers – _it’s nothing, I can handle this. It’s all gonna be fine. No need ta worry ‘bout me._ Of course it didn’t, he knows full well that he won’t get better if he doesn’t do anything.

 

It’s holding him back. Eventually, he stopped trying to hide it. He throws the petals without care. Dutch doesn’t give him jobs that weren’t too important, he’s also concerned for Arthur’s well-being.

 

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––

 

“You’ve been coughin’ a lot lately. I’m getting worried.” Hosea says to Arthur one day. “The ladies are starting to gossip.”

 

“Nothin’ to worry about, Hosea.” Arthur croaks, his throat still hurts. The petals haven’t stopped but he’s gotten better at hiding it. “It’s nothin’ serious.” – a lie clear as day _._

        

“No need to lie to me, unless someone’s giving ya a bouquet of flowers every single day, then by all means tell me to stop worryin’.” Hosea looks at Arthur like he just _knows._ Arthur knows this look; he has seen this look every time Arthur knows he fucked up something.

 

“I-” Arthur reaches for his cigarette pack and lights one up. “I jus’ don’t know what to do. Every day I wake to petals scattered all over me.”

 

“You either tell or you don’t.” Hosea answers “But we both know what happens if you don’t.”

        

“It’s John.”

 

“Yea, I know.”

        

“Of course you know.”

 

“Then I trust _you_ to do the right thing.”

 

The flowers already hurt his lungs, he doesn’t need his heart broken as well.

 

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––

        

Dutch calls for Arthur and John. Something about a small robbery in Annesburg or something, Arthur didn’t even bother to listen he knows it’s not important. _But why John Marston_ out of all the others, why him. Arthur doesn’t want to question Dutch; he’ll just trust him on this one. He was worried this would happen. The two of them being alone together. He doesn’t know how he would hold it in.

 

They prepare for the journey ahead, packing their necessities. Arthur’s knuckles were white as he gripped his horse’s reins tightly. It was a silent ride to Annesburg. It was getting darker so the pair decided it was time to set up camp. They found a perfect place near the riverside. The pair hitch their horses nearby.

        

John was feeding the campfire wood trying to keep both of them warm for the night. Beside him, Arthur was writing something in that journal of his.

 

 _Arthur felt it creeping again_. The pains in his chest starts appearing again. Arthur coughs up petals again. His companion looks at him with distress. He coughs again feeling another flower petal push its way up to his throat. Petals and blood spilling out of his mouth. Arthur spits it out, he sees blood mixed with the orange petals, and throws it to the campfire. Arthur tries to regain his composure.

        

“Do’ya want to talk about, y’know.. that?”

 

“There’s nothin’ to really talk about.” Arthur says gruffly. “You see it don’t ya.”

 

“Arthur, it’s been weeks, aren’t ya gonna do somethin’ about it." John growls to Arthur, concern and anger showing in John’s face.

        

“What do ya know about it then.” Arthur bites back

 

“Well, fer one I know it can kill ya unless ya stop bein’ an idiot and tell that person you’ve been pinin’ or you get surgery n’ lose all feelins for ‘em”

 

“Yer actually right for once, Marston.” Arthur chuckles weakly. “Except the me bein’ an idiot part.”

 

“I’m _always right_ ‘n especially on the idiot part.” John allowed himself a wry smile looking back at the campfire.

 

“Guess I’m jus’ waitin’ for the right time.”

 

“When? Ya gonna tell em when you can’t breathe and you’re _dying?_ I wanna help ya out here.” John says exasperated “You’ve been ignoring me, Morgan, I see you avoiding eye contact and here I thought we was close!”

        

There damn itch at the back of Arthur’s throat, _it’s back_. It’s starting to get uncontrollable. He has to do something – _but John was way ahead of him._ John Marston doesn’t wait for Arthur to answer him. John leans in closer to the older man, John pulled Arthur’s face closer and their lips met. Arthur’s mouth felt so warm against his. John’s fingers slid to the back of Arthur’s head, rubbing circles. When John drew away, he was met with Arthur’s wide eyes - Arthur started to laugh, he feels the weight of the past few weeks falling. John starts to caress the older man’s face with his hand. Tracing Arthur’s lips after they parted.

 

“I can’t believe I’d die ‘cause of you.” Arthur says between his laughter.

        

“You were bein’ a huge idiot, I had to do all the work!” John starts to feel warm a chuckle escapes his lips “If I didn’t do that what’ll happen to you. You could’ve just told me”

 

“I know, I just wasn’t sure you’d feel the same” Arthur’s cheeks started to heat up.

 

“You _are fucking impossible,_ _Arthur Morgan._ How can I not love you back? _”_

“Just thought no one would want me.”

 

“Well _I do_ and I love you.”

        

 _“I love you too.”_ Arthur whispers into the shared space between them.

        

And for the first time in weeks - Arthur could finally breathe

        

_The coughing stopped_

_  
_

**Author's Note:**

> I FORGOT TO ADD MY NOTES DHJSBSJS  
> But yea ive been thinkin of writing this for a while now!! Hanahaki au has always been my favorite concept and u can ovv see i like arthur suffering!!!
> 
> Please if u have any requests im   
> @arthurmarston on tumblr and @joshuagrahams on twitter !!!!
> 
> Please leave a kudor or comment if yall enjoyed!!! Thank u so much💕


End file.
